importance of the question raised would make amends for the shortcomings and want of authority of the writer of the article,

"CORN STORES FOR WAR TIME,"

which appeared in the Nineteenth Century for February, 1896. By Mr. Knowles's kind permission I, in this chapter, reprint it, giving afterwards some of the many comments it elicited and my replies.

In the article referred to, I endeavoured, as others before me have done, to call public attention to the fact that we, as a nation, are living at the mercy of possible enemies-I mean that they could starve us if they wished to do so.

The very great amount of notice the article received from the public press of this country, and the numbers of letters I received from all parts about it, justify me, I think, in saying that I was not unsuccessful in my endeavour.

It was naturally very gratifying to me to find a journal of such influence as the Pall Mall Gazette referring to my suggestion as follows:

"Mr. R. B. Marston has contributed to the "Daily News what we think a very sane and "prudent letter on our food supply in war time. "It is claimed for Lord Wolseley that he settled "this question the other day by contending that "England could never be blockaded. That is “true, although it is quite certain that the price "of every commodity, including bread, would go "up very heavily, blockade or no blockade. But "that is not Mr. Marston's point. Supposing "" we were at war with one of the nations from "which we import our main supplies of corn: "what then? Mr. Marston proposes to increase "our corn reserve from three months' provision, "at which it stands at present, until it is enough "to last us for the year. During that year it

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would, of course, pay every man who has a "rod of ground to grow corn upon it, and we "should be more or less self-supporting. We "could also encourage corn-raising, he says, in "Canada and Australia. Another, and perhaps

a simpler, experiment would be to encourage it "all over the Empire at once. There is in "Burma, for instance, all along the tributaries "of the Irrawaddy the finest corn land in the "world. Transport thence would be cheap, as it "would be wholly by water. Obviously it needs "no system of state bounties, but simply the "information and encouragement of private "enterprise, to start Englishmen in so favour"able a business. The corn that Burma could

"produce, say experts, could easily supply all "the needs of these islands."

And then another most influential paper, the St. James's Gazette, said

"Mr. Marston sensibly proposes that we "should lay up stores of corn at however great an outlay of money."

In the Appendix I have referred to some other of the many criticisms which the following article gave rise to. I beg the reader kindly to note that it was written before Christmas, 1895, and remembering the wisdom of the old maxim, "Fas est et ab hoste doceri," I have in this book enlarged and also in some respects modified my original suggestion, helped not a little in the attempt both by the hostile as well as the friendly criticism it met with.

CORN STORES FOR WAR TIME.
Reprinted, by permission, from the Nineteenth
Century, February, 1896.

"THE events of the last few weeks have
"given this country a somewhat rude
"awakening. We have been threatened

"with war from quarters whence we least expected it.

"Though the war clouds which hung "over the Empire appear to be lifting, "their effect will not soon be forgotten.

"One lesson they have taught the "world, or rather reminded it of, is this

-that whether we are Conservatives, "Liberals, or Radicals, we shall stand "shoulder to shoulder in defence of our "rights, and that there is no stronger power in the world than that 'senti"ment' which binds our Empire together.

"One lesson this threat of war should "teach us is, that we must rely upon "ourselves alone to maintain our position "in the world, and, to do that, we must "be prepared to pay a high premium. "We must be prepared to see our foreign "food supply in any event most seriously crippled in war time-in a possible "event, entirely cut off.

"Are we prepared? Surely every man "who knows under what precarious con"ditions we in Great Britain live, and

move, and have our being, must answer

"-No. Not since the world began is "there an instance other than our own "of a nation of near forty millions, "surrounded by the sea, being almost entirely dependent for sustenance on "other countries.

"Strong as our war fleet is, it is very "far from being strong enough to suc"cessfully engage a possible combination "of fleets, and at the same time protect "our sea-borne food supply. supply. If the "United States and Russia declared war "with us, there would practically be no "food supply left to protect. They "would keep the immense supplies we "now get from them at home, and the "fear of capture or destruction would "effectually prevent Argentina and other "neutrals from sending food to us in any "sufficient quantity.

"What is wanted is that, instead of "only a precarious week's supply, we "should have stored up in this country "enough corn to last for at least twelve "months. Experts in the corn trade agree that there would be no insuper